Theater Listings for Aug. 9-15

Murder for Two A virtuosic Jeff Blumenkrantz plays all the suspects, and Brett Ryback (above left,with Mr. Blumenkrantz) is the investigating officer, in this nifty mystery musical comedy by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair. The actors also provide the music, taking turns at the piano, under Scott Schwartz’s fleet direction (1:30). McGinn/Cazale Theater, 2162 Broadway, at 76th Street, fourth floor, (212) 246-4422, 2st.com. (Charles Isherwood)CreditCreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times

Aug. 8, 2013

Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current productions, additional listings, showtimes and ticket information are at nytimes.com/theater. A searchable, critical guide to theater is at nytimes.com/events.

Previews and Openings

‘Avi Hoffman’s Still Jewish After All These Years’ (previews start on Saturday; opens on Aug. 19) You really needed to be told? After all, Mr. Hoffman began performing at the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater at the age of 10 and has enjoyed long runs in shows like “Too Jewish?” After a 15-year hiatus from the New York stage, the bigger news is that he is still performing through story and song after all these years. Stage 72, 158 West 72nd Street, Manhattan, (800) 838-3006, brownpapertickets.com. (Eric Grode)

‘The Hill Town Plays’ (previews start on Wednesday; opens on Sept. 5) Seemingly every space in the West Village that isn’t hosting the New York International Fringe Festival will be part of this ambitious cycle of five related plays by Lucy Thurber (“Scarcity,” “Ashville,” “Where We’re Born,” “Killers and Other Family,” and “Stay”). In addition to Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Ms. Thurber’s most reliable base of operations in New York (three of these plays have previously been staged there), Axis Theater and the New Ohio Theater and both Cherry Lane Theater spaces will present important stages in one fictional woman’s life. Various locations, (866) 811-4111, theatervillage.com. (Grode)

‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ (in previews; opens on Monday) Shakespeare in the Park hit it big in 1971 when it set some of its young talent loose on a lesser-known Shakespeare comedy: “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” which was turned into a Tony Award-winning delight by Galt MacDermot and John Guare. Now the Public Theater’s summer outpost has deputized the “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” team of Michael Friedman (music and lyrics) and Alex Timbers (adaptation and direction) to musicalize this even more obscure comedy. A batch of “Bloody Bloody” performers are on board, along with Daniel Breaker and Rachel Dratch. Delacorte Theater, Central Park, enter the park at 81st Street and Central Park West, (212) 539-8750, shakespeareinthepark.org. (Grode)

New York International Fringe Festival (starts on Friday) Theater, dance, clowning, performance art and puppetry fans will once again have 20 different downtown Manhattan sites to choose from for this sprawling festival, now in its 17th year. The star quality isn’t as high as in past years — Bruce Vilanch of “The Hollywood Squares” is probably the biggest name — but there does seem to be a preponderance of racy offerings, among them “Inexcusable Fantasies,” “Mercedes Benz Awkwardly” and “A Fallopian Fairy Tale.” Theater fans might take note of “Waiting for Waiting for Godot” and “Who’s Afraid of Me, Myself, and Edward Albee?” Various locations, (866) 468-7619, fringenyc.org. (Grode)

‘Soul Doctor’ (in previews; opens on Thursday) This musical odyssey — after engagements in South Florida and New Orleans, as well as Off Broadway — examines the life of “The Singing Rabbi,” Shlomo Carlebach, a key figure in popular Jewish music, and his friendship with Nina Simone. The show is written and directed by Daniel S. Wise, with choreography by Benoit-Swan Pouffer. Circle in the Square Theater, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (800) 432-7780, telecharge.com. (Grode)

‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) Don’t let the pastoral title, the time of year and the subject matter (Shakespearean adaptation) fool you. This “musical reimagining” of “As You Like It” is one of the few examples of summer Shakespeare being presented indoors. This will presumably help the acoustics for one of the production’s main selling points, an indie-Americana score performed by the 17-member cast. Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, (866) 811-4111, theflea.org. (Grode)

Broadway

‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable. But its smiley-faced mixture of hope and corn scratches an itch in a city recovering from a recession and a hurricane. Theatergoers may occasionally feel the urge both to mist up and throw up, but Lilla Crawford is a nigh irresistible Orphan Annie. With Anthony Warlow and Faith Prince as Miss Hannigan (2:25). Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Ben Brantley)

★ ‘Kinky Boots’ Cyndi Lauper has created a love-and-heat-seeking score that performs like a pop star on Ecstasy. This Harvey Fierstein-scripted tale of lost souls in shoe business, in which a young factory owner (Stark Sands) teams up with a drag queen (Billy Porter), sometimes turns into a sermon. But it’s hard to resist the audience-hugging charisma of the songs in this Tony winner for best new musical (2:20). Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Let It Be’ Another Beatles tribute on Broadway? But this concert is the best of the bunch by far, with a rotating cast, 40 or so songs, and a burst of musical magical realism (2:20). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212) 239-6200, letitbebroadway.com. (Anita Gates)

★ ‘Matilda the Musical’ The most satisfying and subversive musical ever to come out of Britain. Directed by Matthew Warchus, with a book by Dennis Kelly and addictive songs by Tim Minchin, this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel is an exhilarating tale of empowerment, told from the perspective of that most powerless group, little children. Bertie Carvel is priceless as their schoolmistress nemesis (2:35). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Motown: The Musical’ A dramatically slapdash but musically vibrant joy ride through the glory days of the Detroit music label founded by Berry Gordy. Mr. Gordy’s book is sketchy and obvious — you want to plug your ears whenever the music stops. But the music is, of course, some of the greatest R&B ever recorded, and the performers mostly electric (2:40). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Charles Isherwood)

‘Pippin’ Diane Paulus sends in the acrobats for her exhaustingly energetic (and now Tony-winning) revival of Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson’s 1972 musical. As for the 99-pound story at the center of this muscle-bound spectacle — the one about the starry-eyed son of Charlemagne (Matthew James Thomas) — that’s there too, if you look hard. With Patina Miller and a delightful Andrea Martin (2:35). Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ This ultimate and most enduring of makeover stories, via the team who gave us “Oklahoma!,” has been restyled by the director Mark Brokaw and the writer Douglas Carter Beane into a glittery patchwork of snark and sincerity, with a whole lot of fancy ball gowns. Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana are the appealing leading lovers (2:20). Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ Portraying a woman mired in what appears to be a permanent midlife crisis, the marvelous comic actor Kristine Nielsen provides much of the laughing gas in Christopher Durang’s uneven but intermittently delightful riff on Chekhovian themes. David Hyde Pierce and Julie White also star in this Tony-winning play directed by Nicholas Martin (2:30). John Golden Theater, 252 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Isherwood)

Off Broadway

‘Around the World in 80 Days’ This stage version of the Jules Verne novel is an odd combination of steampunk and vaudeville. The actors’ shameless mugging grows annoying after a while, but the pace stays brisk and the energy level high (2:00). New Theater at 45th Street, 354 West 45th Street, Clinton, (866) 811-4111, aroundtheworldinnyc.com. (Neil Genzlinger)

‘Bill W. and Dr. Bob’ Making the story of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous 99 percent preachiness-free is quite an accomplishment. Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey’s purpose-driven script, which never forgets the humor of the human experience, goes a long way toward making this a satisfying revival (2:15). SoHo Playhouse, 15 Van Dam Street, South Village, (866) 811-4111, billwanddrbob.com. (Gates)

★ ‘Buyer & Cellar’ Jonathan Tolins has concocted an irresistible one-man play from the most peculiar of fictitious premises — an underemployed Los Angeles actor goes to work in Barbra Streisand’s Malibu, Calif., basement — allowing the playwright to ruminate with delicious wit and perspicacity on the solitude of celebrity, the love-hate attraction between gay men and divas, and the melancholy that lurks beneath narcissism. In the capable hands of the director Stephen Brackett and the wickedly charming actor Michael Urie, this seriously funny slice of absurdist whimsy creates the illusion of a stage filled with multiple people, all of them with their own droll point of view (1:30). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue South, West Village, (212) 868-4444, smarttix.com. (David Rooney)

‘Cougar the Musical’ Three older women find themselves attracted to younger men, two against their better judgment. The concept seems made for bus tours, but imagination, appealing numbers with original melodies and theme-transcending jokes lift this show well above the level of “Menopause: The Musical” and its ilk (1:30). Fridays and Saturdays only. St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Gates)

‘Cuff Me: The Fifty Shades of Grey Musical Parody’ What can I possibly say that isn’t said by the title of this production? Here’s one thing: It’s not exactly great theater, but I’d still rather see “Cuff Me” than read the novel upon which it’s based (1:30). Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Claudia La Rocco)

★ ‘The Designated Mourner’ This revival of Wallace Shawn’s anatomy of a survivor in a totalitarian country makes the definitive case for its author as one of the most complex and uncompromising moralists of the American theater. André Gregory, who directed the New York premiere in 2000, returns with the same first-rate cast: Deborah Eisenberg, Larry Pine and Mr. Shawn (3:00). Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555, publictheater.org. (Brantley)

‘I Forgive You, Ronald Reagan’ This overwrought new play, about the aftermath of the 1981 air-traffic controller strike, wants very much to be a modern-day “Death of a Salesman.” It has its own working-class hero who loses his identity (and ultimately his sanity) after being forced out of his livelihood, and who compensates by pinning unrealistic hopes on his coddled, lazy offspring. But problems with John S. Anastasi’s script keep us from fully empathizing with its everyman protagonist and agreeing that attention must be paid (2:00). Beckett Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Catherine Rampell)

‘It’s Just Sex’ Jeff Gould’s lightweight comedy, a long-running hit in Los Angeles, is about three married couples whose party turns into an evening of spouse-swapping and postcoital navel-gazing (metaphorically). The cast is personable, but the script’s only deep thought is that if women were told they could talk only to one person for the rest of their lives, they would understand why sexual fidelity is so stifling for men (1:30). Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Gates)

‘Me and Jezebel’ Kelly Moore (that’s Mr. Kelly Moore) is great fun to watch as Bette Davis in Elizabeth Fuller’s real-life “Man Who Came to Dinner” story. Too bad Ms. Fuller, who plays herself, isn’t really an actress. This comedy about a movie star taking over the guest room and the lives of a Connecticut family one month in 1985 is admirably self-deprecating (1:45). Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, Manhattan, (212) 921-7862, ticketmaster.com. (Gates)

‘My Name Is Asher Lev’ Aaron Posner’s adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel feels like a well-made play from the era in which the story takes place: the 1950s. Set in a Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, this tale of an artistic prodigy has been directed with an attention to emotional nuance by Gordon Edelstein and features strong performances from its three-person cast: Ari Brand, Mark Nelson and Jenny Bacon (1:30). Westside Theater/Upstairs, 407 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Rachel Saltz)

★ ‘Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812’ Dave Malloy’s transporting pop opera dramatizes an emotionally potent slice of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” Rachel Chavkin directs a superb young cast who bring the loves and losses of 19th-century Russian aristocrats to vibrant, intimate life in a stylish cabaret setting expressly built for the production (2:30). Kazino, West 13th Street, at Washington Street, West Village, (877) 704-2821, thegreatcometof1812.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ The most exhilarating and inventive example of story theater since the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.” This production, about the boy who became Peter Pan, is an enchanted anatomy of the urge to defy gravity. Roger Rees and Alex Timbers direct (2:10). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Potted Potter’ With no new Harry Potter adventures to pore over, what’s a Muggle in need of a fix to do? One answer: this gloriously goofy parody by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, which compresses a retelling of the seven books into 70 minutes, complete with a game of Quidditch. Clearly the two comics attended Professor Flitwick’s charms class, because they cast the perfect spell over the audience: reductio ad absurdum (1:10). Little Shubert Theater, 422 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Daniel M. Gold)

★ ‘rogerandtom’ From a conventional start — Penny waits in her apartment for Roger to arrive so they can go see the new play by their brother Tom — Julien Schwab’s witty absurdist comedy quickly gets surreal, with a subtle plot that twists and folds back on itself. Smartly using meta-theatrical devices like a broken “fourth wall” and benefiting from excellent performances, the play reminds us that acting doesn’t only take place onstage (1:10). Here, 145 Avenue of the Americas, at Dominick Street, South Village, (212) 352-3101, here.org. (Gold)

‘Shida’ This one-woman musical, written and performed by Jeannette Bayardelle, is an earnest portrait of Shida, a young woman who survives sexual abuse and drugs to reach adulthood with newfound hope. The structure, though, racing from scene to scene and song to song, doesn’t allow Shida to emerge as a distinct individual; she feels instead like a generic compilation (1:10). Ars Nova, 511 West 54th Street, Clinton, (866) 811-4111, shidathemusical.com. (Genzlinger)

‘Storyville’ This Ed Bullins and Mildred Kayden musical may begin with a funeral procession, but in this production, set in New Orleans in 1917, the mood is not mournful. The contrived plot concerns a boxer-trumpeter and a singer trying to escape the confinements of the Crescent City demimonde. But the show is really about atmosphere and music, which its costume and scenic designers and spirited cast generously deliver (2:15). Theater at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 619 Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street, (212) 935-5820, yorktheatre.org. (Andy Webster)

★ Summer Shorts 2013 (Series A) The first set in this year’s edition of short plays at 59E59 Theaters — a tasty and astringent foray into show-business rivalry by Neil LaBute, an imagining of Sarah Palin’s job interview with John McCain by Lucas Hnath, and a fairy tale satire by Tina Howe — is consistently entertaining without dramatic histrionics or knee-slapping hilarity (1:45). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan, (212) 279-4200, ticketcentral.com. (Webster)

★ ‘The Two-Character Play’ Playing strung-out sibling theater troupers in Tennessee Williams’s rarely seen fever dream of an eternal folie à deux, Amanda Plummer and Brad Dourif don’t just strike sparks. They’re a raging conflagration that keeps changing form and direction. Gene David Kirk directs this revival of a demented, messy and oddly affecting self-portrait from an American master (2:10). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin’ David Morse gives a precise, chilling performance as the title character, a mini-Madoff, in Steven Levenson’s downbeat drama about a man trying to make amends for the damage his crime inflicted on his family (1:40). Laura Pels Theater, Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater, 111 West 46th Street, (212) 719-1300, roundaboutunderground.org. (Isherwood)

‘Unbroken Circle’ Eve Plumb, a k a Jan of “The Brady Bunch,” demonstrates a flair for grown-up comedy as a born-again Christian with drinking and divorce habits in James Wesley’s comic drama. Too bad the production is uncertainly paced and a little unpolished, because this story of a 1970s Texas family dealing with the death of an abusive patriarch has a lot going for it (1:50). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Gates)

★ ‘The Weir’ This first-rate revival of Conor McPherson’s play gathers a group of friends as they tell ghost stories to drive away a loneliness than can be even more frightening (1:30). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 727-2737, irishrep.org. (Ken Jaworowski)

‘Richard III’ Last year his bones were found under a parking lot in England. This year Shakespeare in the Parking lot revives this story of the scheming king in a production powered by a first-rate lead actor, Alessandro Colla (2:25). Municipal parking lot at Ludlow and Broome Streets, Lower East Side, (212) 873-9050, shakespeareintheparkinglot.com. (Jaworowski)

★ ‘Then She Fell’ Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice” books, this transporting immersive theater work occupies a dreamscape where the judgments and classifications of the waking mind are suspended. A guided tour of Wonderland, created by Third Rail Projects, leads its participants through a series of rooms and an interactive evening of dance, poetry, food and drink (2:00). The Kingsland Ward at St. John’s, 195 Maujer Street, near Humboldt Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 374-5196, thenshefell.com. (Brantley)

‘Wanda’s Monster’ Making Books Sing, which turns children’s books into musicals, has adapted Eileen Spinelli’s 2002 picture book about Wanda, a little girl who knows that a monster lives in her closet. Barbara Zinn Krieger, who wrote the script, has transformed Wanda’s Granny — the only adult who acknowledges the truth of Wanda’s perception — from a sensible soul into a kick-out-the-jams rocker. This characterization works beautifully with the show’s upbeat score and lyrics by the children’s pop star Laurie Berkner. This charming production brings home a point worth considering at any age: embrace what you fear, and you just may find a friend (1:00). Vineyard Theater, 109 East 15th Street, (646) 601-1406, wandasmonster.com. (Graeber)

‘The Berenstain Bears Live! In Family Matters, the Musical’ This adaptation of three of Stan and Jan Berenstain’s children’s books is pleasant enough, but the cubs are showing their age. Saturday and Sunday only (:55). Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, 5 West 63rd Street, (866) 811-4111, berenstainbearslive.com.

‘En el Tiempo de las Mariposas’ Caridad Svich’s Spanish-language adaptation of Julia Álvarez’s novel (“In the Time of the Butterflies”) about the Mirabal sisters, who opposed the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and died as a result (2:00). Repertorio Español at Gramercy Arts Theater, 138 East 27th Street, (212) 225-9999, repertorio.org/mariposas.

★ ‘Choir Boy’ (closes on Sunday) A supremely gifted cast of singing actors breathes vivid life into Tarell Alvin McCraney’s appealing but diffuse play about a gay teenager, played with beaming intensity by Jeremy Pope, trying to come to terms with his sexuality at an all-black boys prep school (1:30). City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, (212) 581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘The Civil War’ (closes next Friday) Presented by Theatreworks USA’s free summer theater program, this earnest and absorbing musical for families illuminates history through period songs and the perspectives of a handful of well-chosen characters: a girl who disguises herself as a man to join the Confederate army; a struggling Irish immigrant and Union corporal; a plantation owner’s son and his former best friend, who was also his father’s slave. With a book by Arthur Perlman and musical arrangements and one new Broadway-style number by Jeff Lunden, the production is stronger in its intense, intimate moments than in its bids for comic relief. You sense the weight of the carnage in America’s bloodiest war: the Union, fortunately, won, but everybody lost (1:15). Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, twusa.org. (Laurel Graeber)

‘The Nance’ (closes on Sunday) Playing a gay burlesque performer whose onstage specialty is mincing effeminacy, Nathan Lane combines shiny expertise and dark conviction to sometimes devastating effect, in this strained if heartfelt play by Douglas Carter Beane. Not even Mr. Lane, though, can reconcile all the disparities the script asks him to weave together. Jack O’Brien is the estimable director (2:25). Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Nobody Loves You’ (closes on Sunday) A perky new musical, by Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter, spoofing the seemingly spoof-proof world of reality television. Heath Calvert, as the gorgeous and dumb host, and Rory O’Malley, as a swooning fan boy Tweeting himself into a happy stupor as he watches, highlight the director Michelle Tattenbaum’s terrific cast (1:30). Second Stage Theater, 305 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 246-4422, 2st.com. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Patti Issues’ (closes on Thursday) In his funny, tender coming-of-age monologue, Ben Rimalower traces the obsessive Patti LuPone fandom that provided him with an empowering role model. That inspiration proved perhaps most useful to Mr. Rimalower in processing the fallout after his father kicked down the closet door and bailed on the family. While on one hand, this is the story of many young gay men’s propensity for diva worship, the tartly observed show goes several steps further by exploring the wide-eyed experiences that result when the acolyte gets to interact with his idol (1:00). Duplex Cabaret Theater, 61 Christopher Street, at Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Village, pattiissues.brownpapertickets.com. (Rooney)

Correction:Aug. 16, 2013

An earlier version of the entry about “Around the World in 80 Days” misstated the show’s running time. It is 2 hours, not 1 hour 30 minutes.